Hiring good people

Every book on management or successful business talks about hiring great people. But very little of what I've seen suggests how to *identify* those people.

However, I went through a recruiting/interviewing class that was fantastic earlier this week. The guy leading the class (who wrote a book on this subject), said that the absolute key thing to interview for is "motivation", which you can *only* tell from past performance. His 3 take-away messages were:

1) Write a 'real' job description - Write specifically the person needs to deliver in the first month, first quarter, etc., not what characteristics or background they need. That way you get people who self-identify that they can and want to do what you need.

2) Don't make an in initial impression until you've finished interviewing the person. People who are affable, nice, etc aren't necessarily good candidates. Don't get sold by their outward presentation; focus on what they've done, and if it matches what you need them to do.

3) Never hire people who competent but who are not motivated. Motivation is what sets apart people who make your team great and people who make your life a lot of work.

It was an awesome presentation. I am sure I can put it to good use, too.